Tuning up Vegoil (SVO, WVO) Systems.

It's been a fun couple of weeks. We've had a few folks bring in their not-fully functioning SVO trucks (first-time installations), providing us good puzzles to figure out and vegoil systems to improve.

We like to encourage do-it-yourself vegoil conversions. We'll sell you a kit at a discount, and give you free phone support installing it.

And if you get stuck, we're available to fix things.

Yep, here at Arctic Vegwerks, we keep busy. We teach biodiesel and SVO classes and seminars, sell and install vegoil systems, spend hours giving free phone consultations for our customers, and we fix those poorly running or unfinished WVO conversions.

We're available in 4 hour chunks of time, for $150 a pop. Both systems this week took two 4-hour blocks to finish up.

First was a nice, burly, and moderately complex 3-valve Plantdrive setup on a 95 F250 Ford Powerstroke. The 3rd valve switched between looping and returning to tank. All the hoses were finished, but the electrical hadn't been started. We installed the really truly amazing VOControl on the truck. It's not cheap, but it BLOWS the competition's controllers out of the water. It's a real computer, not just a timer. More on that later.

The second was a 1996 Dodge 2500 Cummins with a Greasecar setup. It was installed by a local mechanic about a year ago, and had never run well. The mechanic is a good one and his work was beautiful. But, it was his first SVO kit and he just followed the generic Greasecar instructions. Once again I was unimpressed by the Greasecar setup. Temps rarely hit 100F, the vegoil was being pulled first through the veg filter, then the diesel filter and the tank and lines were full of gunk. We drained the tank, added a flat-plate heat exchanger and completely rerouted the engine fuel hoses. On its maiden run the temps were pegged in the 160's, yeah!

Thinking about installing a system? Need a tune-up on your existing system? We offer a free initial consultation to any Alaskan.

How much does an Alaska Vegoil System cost?

Everyone wants to know HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? To run on used vegetable oil, that is. Well, it's really a case of penny wise, pound foolish - or, you get what you pay for. Our systems have bomb-proof components and lots and lots of heat to protect your injection pump in the Alaska winters.

Prices as of Feb 2008 for a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel:

$450 Basic PlantDrive TTVTS kit includes:
    $150 Vegtherm Standard
    $215 VegMax Filter
    $89 1st - 3-port Hydraforce valve (option)
    Assorted wires/connectors/fittings

additional PlantDrive parts:
$89 2nd - 3-port Hydraforce valve
$125 HP-16 Hotplate with 3/8" fittings
$450 Heated 12 Gallon Trekker Poly Tank

other tank options:
    $209 HotFox with $0 existing tank
    $209 HotFox with ~$400 aluminum tank

$1114 + 15% Alaska shipping $167.10

$1281.10 PlantDrive subtotal - this is what we can sell you if you want to do-it-yourself.

$600 (rough estimate) fittings/electrical/hardware/hose/sealant/insulation/etc.

$1821.10 parts subtotal estimate

$650 labor for Alaska Standard install (about 2 1/2 days)

$2471.10 Installed estimate for the bomb-proof 4-season Alaska Standard system.

We can install a no-frills 3-season system for a substantial savings, but we recommend the Alaska Standard for our climate. Deluxe options are available (gauges/controllers/pre-heaters), but our basic components are rock-solid in the standard system.

Shipping discounts may be available for folks picking up at our Chugiak (Anchorage) location, especially if your shipping times are flexible.

Pickup trucks require some higher-flow components and additional labor, and will cost a few hundred dollars more.

Veg On!

2002 VW Jetta TDI PlantDrive SVO Conversion

We've got a fair backlog of conversion photos that we're slowly organizing. Check out the latest Alaska winterized SVO conversion of a 2002 VW Jetta at www.alaskavegoil.org/jetta.

Here's a snippet for all you grease monkeys out there:

The HOH lines come up from under the vehicle, pass next to the timing belt cover, and end at the 16-plate heat exchanger.

Vegoil exits the flat plate heat exchanger and enters the 3-port supply valve.

The diesel line is rerouted from the stock filter to the supply valve.

Fuel flows from the supply valve through the 12v VegTherm heater, past the fuel temperature sensor and into the injection pump.

The fuel return lines head through the sight glass to the 3-port return valve, where the vegoil side is looped and the diesel side returns to the stock diesel return line.

Can't get enough of technical vegoil conversions? We'll have more coming soon!

Veg On!

Why PlantDrive? Or, Which SVO Kit is Best?

Wow, here's where you open the can'o'worms.

In the good ol' US of A you have 4 major SVO (WVO, VegOil) kits to choose from. All of these kits have been used successfully in Alaska, as well as kits by smaller manufacturers and homemade custom kits.

Which is best? IMHO there is NO PERFECT WAY to convert your vehicle. There are, however, several different good ways to convert.

My personal order of preference is:

1. PlantDrive (aka Neoteric Biofuels)
2. Frybrid
3. Golden Fuel Systems (aka Greasel)
4. GreaseCar

Why PlantDrive? Well, honestly, when I converted my first vehicle Frybrid didn't exist so I went with PlantDrive (then known as Neoteric Biofuels). I'm happy with the results and am comfortable with the system.

PlantDrive kits consist of a box of major components sourced from Big-Rig cold-weather parts. They retrofit Semi-truck/Tractor trailer cold-weather equipment to SVO use on passenger vehicles. This stuff is not going to break, it's top of the line.

It is a great a la carte approach where you can pick and choose the parts you need. On the other hand it is expensive and the "kit" you get doesn't include everything (it lacks fuel lines/tank/little connectors), but you do get the *nice* VegTherm heater invented by Ed Beggs.

Why Frybrid? Chris Goodwin at Frybrid is very well respected for his research and development. He's taken the opposite approach as PlantDrive and has created a high-quality line of SVO-specific parts mostly made from scratch.

His kits include everything, tank, pickup, lines, filter, valves, and computer control. Frybrid also has amazing installation manual and a great VegOil forum. His use of aluminum lines and hydraforce valves have become the defacto standard for many folks.

These are great if you need it all, and are willing to solidly mount your stuff (I prefer flexible HOH lines with my Plantdrive kit so I can remove my tank for filling or move the lines around to work on the engine, but those HIH lines look *much* prettier and most likely heat more effectively.)

Why Golden Fuel Systems? Well, Charlie Anderson has roots in Alaska, and he has created some nice tanks and lines, and uses some solid filters. They have evoled significantly throughout the years, and the new stuff looks pretty good. His systems have run on new vehicles in cold northern Alaska winters.

I, however, have a philosophical disagreement with their system. Golden Fuel says that the engine is the heat exchanger and the purpose of the SVO system is to get the oil to flow to the engine. Frybrid and others maintain that the oil MUST BE HOT before injection to prevent damage to the engine. I subscribe to the latter view. I know of a Golden Fuel System conversion in Alaska where the owner has added a PlantDrive VegTherm and HotPlate to boost the temperatures and additional 20-30 degrees F. I am fine with a Golden Fuel kit as the base. but would add extra heat before the heat exchanger.

Why Greasecar? Well, to quote Justin Soares from GreaseWorks: "Grease Car may have been the first on the scene, but they've also been the slowest to keep up with the learning curve."

Personally I am not as familiar with the Greasecar system, it only has 3 heat exchangers (tank, lines, filter) like the Golden system, as opposed to the 4 used by Frybrid (tank, lines, filter, heat exchanger) or the 5 on my (non-stock) PlantDrive system (tank, lines, filter, heat exchanger, VegTherm 12v heater). They use copper in the fuel tank, and have in-tank fittings that make me nervous about fuel/coolant contamination. I know of 2 GreaseCar conversions in Alaska, both of which have had mediocre reviews by the owners.

Like I said, there's no perfect way. If you have an old beater to drive into the ground, spend as little as possible, and don't worry about engine damage. If you've got a spare tank lying around, pick and choose from a PlantDrive system. Like clean installs and need everything, try Frybrid.

Veg On!